The World Beyond BetterMost > Women Today
As women get bigger, models get smaller
milomorris:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on June 21, 2012, 05:38:12 pm ---What I'm saying is that economic level makes a difference in the likelihood of your being overweight, and that has been a cultural transformation over the past 50 years or so. If you don't think so, I'm sorry, but you're just incorrect.
--- End quote ---
While I understand that there is a relationship between poverty and poor health, I see the relationship as a correlation rather than a causation. And as you have noted, more than money comes into play to make the difference.
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: milomorris on June 21, 2012, 06:01:06 pm ---While I understand that there is a relationship between poverty and poor health, I see the relationship as a correlation rather than a causation. And as you have noted, more than money comes into play to make the difference.
--- End quote ---
OK, then, what do you see as the causal relationship? If X is correlated with Y, then either X causes Y, or Y causes X, or Z causes both X and Y. Or some mixture of those.
Does poverty "cause" obesity? Not directly. A rich person can eat poorly, avoid exercise, etc. A poor person can eat healthily, exercise, etc. As I've said.
However, poor people, as I've also said, 1) have a harder time accessing healthy food 2) are less likely to be well-educated about healthy eating 3) may have a harder time moving around their neighborhoods 4) live in a culture in which heavier weight is more socially accepted ... and so on. There are many factors. My point is that poverty does cause those things I just mentioned, and those things cause obesity. There's just little room for argument there.
Since we're sharing our own experiences, let's take my middle-class situation. I have two upscale grocery stores within five minutes' drive of my house that, needless to say, have excellent produce and meat sections. I have a lower-priced grocery store 10 minutes' drive away that has pretty decent produce and OK meat. If I take my dog on a walk, I can walk 15 minutes in one direction and come to a path around a quiet lake, or 10 minutes in the other direction and come to a walking/biking path along a wooded creek that eventually leads to a big park with a waterfall, or 15 minutes in still another way and come to three lakes that are linked together by bustling biking and walking paths and parks, including a rose garden, a Japanese peace garden and a bird sanctuary. I can walk around one lake in about an hour, or bike around all three in about that same time. In between these destinations are houses -- some of them, like mine, smallish and others literal mansions -- many (of both sizes) with beautiful landscaped lawns and lovely gardens. In 10 years of walking around my neighborhood, I've never felt unsafe except once or twice walking alone in the dark and encountering someone -- but even then, nothing happened, all was fine. For years, I subscribed to Cooking Light, and even now tend to look through healthy recipes in other magazines or the newspaper or the web. There's an Anytime Fitness five minutes in one direction, a Snap Fitness in another, a YMCA 15 minutes away, and so on. And yes, there is some cultural pressure to stay thin -- more, I would guess, than in some neighborhoods but far less than, say, in Hollywood.
So how many of those factors that facilitate and encourage exercise and healthy eating does your hypothetical resident of da 'hood enjoy?
Luvlylittlewing:
K, I'm having trouble with the quote command, but I wanted to answer your questions about "the Hood" so I'll just reply. I don't know if where I'm living now is considered the hood, but my sister and I call it that. Actually we live in a gentrified area of Oakland that is working class, but you'll find Victorian mansions and other homes so beautiful they'll take your breath away. Friends and family come to visit us from all over (even a few Brokies have stayed in my home)and are amazed at the homes in my portion of "the Hood." :) But if you go several blocks to the east of where we live you'll find yourself in the serious hood, or as we call it, "Lower Bottom." Maya Angelou lived there. Lower Bottom is populated with goverment housing (we no longer use the term "project" in Oakland) but I'll admit, most of them were just remodeled and look like town houses. I wouldn't mind living in some of them. But this is still considered the hood because it is low income, and as racially diverse as just about anywhere in the United States. There are older homes in Lower Bottom, but many are over 100 years old and in disrepair. Are there resources to provide healthy habits in the hood? Well, Whole Foods (yeah I know most poorer people don't frequent Whole Foods) Safeway, and Lucky supermarkets are 5 minutes away, and most residents of low income housing have decent cars. Shoreline Park, a newly developed park with great view of the Bay and SF is smack dab in the hood. Lake Merritt (also being renovated) is within walking distance. Lake Merritt has several fitness programs, a lawn bowling club and walking/running trails. Lake Temescal is in a better neighborhood but is less than 10 minutes away from the hood. Deep in the hood you'll find organic produce stores, several farmers markets. This is just off the top of my head. I could go on.
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: Luvlylittlewing on June 22, 2012, 03:09:17 pm ---Are there resources to provide healthy habits in the hood? Well, Whole Foods (yeah I know most poorer people don't frequent Whole Foods) Safeway, and Lucky supermarkets are 5 minutes away, and most residents of low income housing have decent cars.
--- End quote ---
The folks in that neighborhood are fortunate. A big problem in Philadelphia is the lack of decent grocery stores in many neighborhoods. And owning a car can be problematic even in a more affluent area such as my part of the Center City gayborhood because of narrow streets (that clearly predate the automobile era), inadequate parking, and high insurance rates.
Luvlylittlewing:
Jeff, the insurance rates are high, but the people in my neighborhood still drive some very high-end cars. One of my neighbors just bought a sleek new Mercedes. I mean, people in Cali love their cars. And gas is higher here in the Bay Area than anywhere else in the US, but people pay the prices and don't grumble much. The streets are wide and the parking is plentiful.
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